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The degree symbol is ° — the small circle you see in temperatures (21°C, 98.6°F), angles (90°, 360°) and map coordinates (40.7128° N). Click the symbol above to copy it, or use the shortcut for your device below: Alt + 0176 on Windows, Option + Shift + 8 on Mac, and press-and-hold 0 on a phone. Every method takes under five seconds once you know it.
Degree symbol shortcuts at a glance
| Where you are typing | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Windows (any app) | Alt + 0176 on the number pad |
| Windows laptop (no number pad) | Windows key + . then the Symbols tab |
| Mac | Option + Shift + 8 |
| iPhone / Android | Press and hold 0, slide to ° |
| Microsoft Word | Type 00B0, then press Alt + X |
| Google Docs | Insert → Special characters → search “degree” |
| Chromebook / Linux | Ctrl + Shift + U, type 00b0, press Enter |
| Excel / Google Sheets | =CHAR(176) |
How to type the degree symbol on Windows
Method 1: Alt code (fastest with a number pad)
- Click where the symbol should go and turn Num Lock on.
- Hold the Alt key and type 0176 on the number pad (not the number row).
- Release Alt — ° appears.
If nothing appears, Num Lock is off or you used the top number row — Alt codes only read the number pad. The shorter Alt + 248 gives the same symbol on most systems.
Method 2: Symbol panel (best for laptops)
Press Windows key + . (period) to open the symbol panel, open the Symbols tab, and click °. This works in browsers, email and documents, and needs no number pad.
Method 3: Character Map
Press Windows key + R, type charmap, and press Enter. Find the degree sign, click Select, then Copy, and paste it with Ctrl + V.
How to type the degree symbol on Mac
Press Option + Shift + 8 anywhere on a Mac — Word, Pages, Notes, browsers, everywhere.
Or press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search “degree”, and double-click ° to insert it.
Careful with Option + 0 — that makes º, the masculine ordinal indicator used in Spanish (1º). It looks similar but it is not the degree sign.
How to type the degree symbol on iPhone and Android
Switch to the number keyboard (123), then press and hold the 0 key. A small row of options appears — slide your finger to ° and let go. The same trick works in messages, notes, email and browsers.
In Word, Google Docs and Excel
Word: Type 00B0 and immediately press Alt + X — Word converts the code into °. Word also has its own shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + @, then Space. Or use Insert → Symbol → More Symbols and find the degree sign in Latin-1 Supplement.
Google Docs: Open Insert → Special characters, type “degree” in the search box, and click the symbol to insert it.
Excel/Sheets: In a cell, use the formula =CHAR(176) to return ° — handy when you are building temperatures into a sheet.
Degree symbol codes
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Symbol | ° |
| Unicode | U+00B0 |
| HTML | ° or ° |
| Windows Alt code | 0176 (or 248) |
| Word | 00B0, then Alt + X |
Related symbols: ℃ (U+2103, degrees Celsius as one character) and ℉ (U+2109, degrees Fahrenheit). In normal writing, most people type ° plus the letter C or F — that is the standard form in news, weather and science writing.
Degree sign vs its lookalikes
Three small circles cause endless confusion. The degree sign ° (U+00B0) sits halfway up the line and is the one for temperature and angles. The ring above ˚ (U+02DA) is smaller and used in a few languages and in physics notation. The masculine ordinal º (U+00BA) is slightly oval and belongs to numbered lists in Spanish and Portuguese (1º, 2º). If you typed a symbol and it looks a touch too big, small or oval, you probably grabbed a lookalike — copy the one at the top of this page instead.
Frequently asked questions
What is the degree symbol Alt code?
Alt + 0176 on the number pad. Hold Alt, type 0176, release Alt. Num Lock must be on, and the digits must come from the number pad, not the top row.
How do I type the degree symbol on a Mac?
Press Option + Shift + 8. It works in every Mac app. Avoid Option + 0 — that inserts º, a different character.
How do I make the degree symbol on an iPhone or Android phone?
Open the number keyboard, press and hold 0, then slide to ° and release.
Is °C one character or two?
Usually two: the degree sign ° followed by the capital letter C. Unicode also has a single-character version, ℃ (U+2103), but the two-character form is the standard in everyday writing.
Why does the degree symbol show as a box?
The font on that device does not include the symbol, so it draws an empty box (□) instead. The character itself is still correct — switching to a common font like Arial fixes the display.
How do I type the degree symbol on a Chromebook?
Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 00b0, then press Enter or Space.
Need a different symbol? The symbols copy and paste tool on our homepage has 246 symbols — check marks, arrows, currency, math and more — each one a single click to copy.